How far does Zohran Mamdani’s political approach and appeal carry beyond liberal strongholds in city centers? Guest: Perry Bacon, staff writer at The New Republic and host of the TNR show Right Now With Perry Bacon . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get acce...
Jun 29, 2026•29 min
Across the nation, we’re getting ready for July 4, 2026: Taylor Swift’s wedding weekend. Also Donald Trump is either dying or dying to be thin, JD Vance is vying to seem human, and Bill Cassidy is determined to go out in a blaze of obsequiousness. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe direc...
Jun 26, 2026•4 min
Through stealing your job or simply tanking the stock market—whichever comes first—the rise of artificial intelligence (companies) is a very futuristic sounding problem. It may have some very old-fashioned sounding solutions however. Guest: Cory Doctorow , sci-fi author, journalist, blogger and author of “ The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI. ” Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcas...
Jun 26, 2026•32 min
Where do negotiations with Iran stand at the moment? Well, Iran’s out from under a more-than-four-decade-long sanction and could start making bank, plus it controls the Strait of Hormuz and hasn’t agreed to any concessions on its nuclear program. On the American side, JD Vance got to see Switzerland. Guest: Tommy Vietor, co-founder of Crooked Media and co-host of the political podcasts Pod Save America and Pod Save the World . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listen...
Jun 25, 2026•32 min
Most people probably don’t think about the reflecting pool on the National Mall much, but Donald Trump sure does. His efforts to cosmetically raise it to his standards have been staggeringly expensive, and ineffective in surprising ways. It encapsulates the Trump presidency experience pretty succinctly. Guest : Christina Cauterucci , Slate senior writer Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcas...
Jun 24, 2026•27 min
With lethal injection drugs getting harder and harder to procure, states are legalizing death by firing squad. It may seem like a return to a more barbaric time, but there’s reason to believe that execution methods like lethal injection or nitrogen gas are even less humane. But even moreso, it may force us to confront our feelings about the death penalty as a nation. Guests: Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood , Catholic priest and founder of the Execution Intervention Project. Maurice Chammah , staff writer for...
Jun 23, 2026•31 min
It has been 250 years and America still doesn’t know how to talk about the genocide of indigenous peoples that kicked the whole thing off. Guest: Rebecca Nagle, host of Pushkin’s First America podcast , Crooked's This Land podcast, and author of “ By The Fire We Carry: The Generation-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land ”. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple P...
Jun 22, 2026•25 min
Everyone needs a hobby. Unfortunately, instead of, say, model trains, the world’s first trillionaire’s seems to unwind by boosting calls for anti-immigrant violence on his social media platform. Guest: Nitish Pahwa , Slate staff writer covering business and tech. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can...
Jun 19, 2026•3 min
People are asking artificial intelligence large language models how to do everything—even how to harm themselves and others. And while companies claim there are guardrails in place for those situations, we’ve already seen real-world instances of an LLM’s advice being used to plan a mass shooting. Guest: Mark Follman, national affairs editor at Mother Jones and author of “ Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America. ” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to a...
Jun 19, 2026•28 min
Oil prices fell when Trump announced a deal had been struck with Iran, but don’t mistake that for things going back to “normal.” We left “normal” a long time ago. Guest: Justin Wolfers, economist and professor at the University of Michigan, and author and host of Platypus Economics . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top...
Jun 18, 2026•26 min
Both the US and Iran are talking up a deal that will end the war and re-open the Strait of Hormuz. So why is Israel so upset about it? Guest: Gregg Carlstrom , Middle East correspondent for the Economist Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever y...
Jun 17, 2026•29 min
From the firing of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Q. Brown Jr., to the removal of the first Black four-star general’s portrait from the Pentagon, to striking Black and women Naval officers’ names from the promotion list, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s vision for the future of the military seems to come at the expense of Black servicemembers and their careers—leading many to question if this is even the right career path to be on. Guest: Clint Smith , staff writer at The Atlan...
Jun 16, 2026•26 min
Two horror films by two young directors have outmuscled an honest-to-Grogu Star Wars to become the early box office surprises of the summer. Guest: Justin Chang , film critic at The New Yorker Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. ...
Jun 15, 2026•26 min
It’s real: The two great flavors of What Next and What Next TBD together at last. But what’s not real? Where does a sincere speaker using a medium with a motive fall? And how much wolf can you cry before they just take you off shepherd duty? This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly fr...
Jun 12, 2026•4 min
Is Elon Musk’s SpaceX leading humanity to Mars? Or is that just grandiose window-dressing for an A.I. company leading several other A.I. companies to IPOs? Guest: Max Chafkin , reporter with Bloomberg Businessweek and cohost of the Everybody's Business podcast. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. ...
Jun 12, 2026•30 min
How Donald Trump rearranging the White House lawn to accommodate a UFC fight neatly mirrors the way the organization and its parent company have reshaped themselves around the president. Guest: Luke Thomas , MMA journalist and host of the Morning Kombat podcast. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sig...
Jun 11, 2026•28 min
After being eradicated in the United States in the ‘60s, screwworm is back—at a time when beef is even more in demand and the American herd is already depleted. How long will consumers be forced to choose between high prices and, ugh, turkey burgers? Guest: Kevin Draper , New York Times business correspondent covering the agricultural industry. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subsc...
Jun 10, 2026•29 min
Why would Trump choose Bill Pulte to be the new acting Director of National Intelligence? Pulte may not have a background in national security, but since he was already Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, you have to admit it was convenient to hire from the batch of people who were already around. Guest: Andrew Egger , White House correspondent for the Bulwark . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your ...
Jun 09, 2026•29 min
He’s treated Ebola; he’s had Ebola. Here’s what he thinks of the growing crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—and how America can and should respond. Guest: Dr Craig Spencer, emergency doctor, professor at Brown. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to ge...
Jun 08, 2026•25 min
It’s a bit of an overstatement to say “the Pope came out as anti-A.I.” with last week’s encyclical—after all, Anthropic’s cofounder was there for the release. So what did the Chicago Pope actually say, what was he doing with his encyclical, and what’s an encyclical anyway? Guest: Lizzie O’Leary, host of What Next TBD This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free lis...
Jun 05, 2026•7 min
It’s an awkward time to have a Department of Education that seems so disinterested in, uh, education. It’s leaving teachers to grapple with how to integrate artificial intelligence into the classroom—if at all. Guest: Randi Weingarten , president of the American Federation of Teachers. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at t...
Jun 05, 2026•26 min
Graham Platner has a lot of things in his favor as he runs for a US Senate seat in Maine: it’s an off-election year, the president’s approval rating is slumping and dragging down the whole GOP. Should be a breeze as soon as Platner gets through this latest scandal. Guests: Danielle Kurtzleben, White House Correspondent for NPR and “ Masculinity politics expert .” Ken Klippenstein , independent journalist covering national security and U.S. politics. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus t...
Jun 04, 2026•38 min
It’s city vs. state vs. the feds at Delaney Hall, an ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, where prisoners have gone on a hunger strike to protest the conditions inside—while outside, protestors clash with authorities. Guest: Aymann Ismail , senior writer at Slate. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our sho...
Jun 03, 2026•26 min
It’s the war that’s been won since it started; the ceasefire with ongoing strikes, and the peace deals that are done except for the points of disagreement. Does the public have any reason to believe what Trump says about the Iran war? Does Iran? Guest: David Graham , staff writer at The Atlantic Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free...
Jun 02, 2026•26 min
Are the Dems in…array? Or at least, in less of a disarray than their opponents? Guest: Jonathan V. Last , editor at the Bulwark. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Madeline Ducharme, Patrick ...
Jun 01, 2026•30 min
How the Trump administration has tried to put pressure on Disney for opinions expressed by Jimmy Kimmel and the hosts of The View—and how the Mouse is fighting back. Guest: Anna M. Gomez , commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission since September 2023. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show pag...
May 29, 2026•29 min
Minnesota’s state restrictions on predictions markets like Kalshi and Polymarket has gotten pushback from an unexpected source: the federal government. Guest: Rep. Emma Greenman, a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who authored legislation to restrict prediction markets in the state. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try F...
May 28, 2026•31 min
Well, it wasn’t exactly “standing up to the president” but it’s telling that Congress decided to leave town rather than try to defend Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund and immunity for any past present or future IRS inquiries. Guest: Liz Oyer, former Pardon Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Public Defender, author of the Lawyer Oyer substack. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slat...
May 27, 2026•28 min
Vacations to a Disney park were never cheap but now, in a reflection of American culture writ large, there are ever more-expensive tiers to pay to get into. Guest: Dan Curell, management consultant who wrote “ Disney and the Decline of America’s Middle Class ” for the New York Times. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top...
May 26, 2026•26 min
Thanks for joining us during the holidays. While our team is taking a break, we want to share a podcast with you that we think you’ll love. It’s called The Bethlehem Project. It’s a special series from the Financial Times that looks at big political and economic issues through the lens of one city … Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Democrats are looking for a bit of a rebrand after losing the White House and both houses of Congress in 2024. They have an opportunity this November to test out some new typ...
May 25, 2026•23 min
